


First Encounters: Ink

by Mysticmataki



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-03-02 10:23:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18809260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mysticmataki/pseuds/Mysticmataki
Summary: A series of short stories for the first year anniversary of “Ink and its Carrier”.Long before V showed up, MC moved to the neighborhood and changed it for good. How did the first interaction with MC go with all of the other residents of the neighborhood that make up her inner circle?Chapters will be posted in the order they met her.





	1. Jumin Han

“Father, the candidates that we have been taking time to meet have horrendously low credit, don’t seem to have an actual plan for the building, and I’m convinced one wants to use it for money laundering. Because of this, I do not think the realtor showing off this listing should continue. Yes, I understand that you think she has a lot of potential, you’ve thought that about several of your personal hires. Yes, that’s exactly what I’m implying. I will be showing off this property until we stabilize and hire someone with more experience. I hope you can trust my judgement.”

Jumin spoke in clipped sentences, ever professional despite the fact he was talking to his own father, pausing every so often to allow him to say his piece before ending the call, making his stance known that he would be taking over for some time. The neighborhood had been owned by C&R Realty for decades now, starting when his father’s then girlfriend had sighed and waxed poetic about small businesses and how ‘quaint’ they were. It didn’t take much beyond that for his father to snatch up the slightly historic block, known for its long term tenants and diversity of business, and through that time the neighborhood only seemed to strengthen. Jumin couldn’t lie, it was one of the few times that an idea spurred on by one of the many woman he father spent time with was actually fruitful.

But the latest realtor who had been put on this block was showing no real sign of caring and Jumin was convinced she had been showing the building to personal acquaintances as opposed to actual applicants so the only natural course of action was to take over the account and find someone to take over the corner property that he deigned worthwhile, but also someone he could trust to be a good business partner. Someone with a history of not paying rent on time and being evicted on 4 different occasions didn’t cut it for him.

Looking down dispassionately as his desk, he picked up an application that he had printed out and quickly scanned it, able to tell if the person fit his criteria from a single glance after all these years of working with his father. He raised an eyebrow as he looked through the one at the top of the pile. A young woman, excellent credit, the financials to pay the deposit and the monthly rent, and who was available to meet at any given time to answer questions or see the property.

His interest was piqued, and he made a note to schedule a viewing with her.

 

Days later Jumin Han stood outside of the building a full twenty minutes early fumbling with the keys as he opened it up, going inside to ensure the lights were working, that the cleaning crew they hired had picked up every speck of dust, and that the windows were open and bringing in as much natural light as possible. He was meticulous in his quick rundown, and upon glancing at his watch confirmed that there was around ten minutes left before she was to show up. Jumin made a point of not doing any research on a candidate before they met, that would be entirely unprofessional to make a judgement off of something as trivial as social media so he was unsure of what the woman would look like, but stepping down from the second floor his eyebrows rose a little as he saw a woman standing outside, her hands held up as if she was trying to frame the building in her hands.

She had nodded once, smiling to herself before she looked in through the front door and locked eyes with Jumin, the smile still on her face as she gave a short wave.

This had to be her. Jumin wasn’t one to judge off of appearances immediately but he was pleasantly surprised so far by what he saw. She was well-dressed, obviously privy to the fact that she had to be presentable for a meeting of this nature, and on top of that she wasn’t just on time, she was early. Jumin was used to people being late, to no-shows, to showing up just in time, but it wasn’t common for someone to be there this significantly ahead of schedule. He finished walking down the stairs and immediately made his way to the door, standing straight as he opened it and greeted her.

“Hello, you must be ________,” he stated coolly to which she nodded.

“Yes, I’m ________, and you must be Jumin Han, it’s nice to meet you,” she said politely back, extending a hand to him that he took and shook, surprised by the strength in her own handshake before she continued talking. “I apologize for arriving early, I can wait outside until the scheduled time.”

“No, this works. I arrived earlier myself to ensure the place was set up, so since you’re here we can start now.” He held the door open and stepped to the side, allowing her to walk through which she did after smiling at him and then turned to the space, the smile widening. Closing the door and locking it behind them, Jumin turned and walked to her side, immediately turning on his ‘work mode’. 

“This building has been around for a few decades, but C&R has worked hard to ensure that the structure remains sound and up to current safety standards. You’ll see that there are hardwood floors on this level and the next, as opposed to carpet due to the fact that carpet doesn’t last long, especially if you expect to have heavy traffic into your store. This building is also unique for being two levels but still being the same shop, the majority of the buildings like this either have a different store on the upper level or the tenants live there since a lot of these buildings used to be homes.”

“But this one had the top floor renovated to be more of an open space a few years back, correct?” ________ asked as she walked over to the windows, pulling a tape measure out from her bag and measuring the sill to Jumin’s curiosity. 

“Yes, it was. Looks like you did some research,” he said, slightly impressed by the knowledge she had as she looked at the measure she had in hand and put it back into her purse, pulling out a small notebook and taking note of the measurement before stashing that away too and nodding.

“I’ve been eyeing this listing for about a month now. I was actually surprised when you emailed me asking me about my schedule so we could set up a time to meet, I was sure this place had to have been taken by now, just still listed as things were finalized,” she said honestly, moving to the other window and looking out before turning to the wall and holding her hands up in the style she had been when Jumin first saw her. His jaw had tightened when she talked about how long the place had been listed, and as she talked about how long she had been trying to get a viewing. That other realtor would have to be demoted to an apartment complex. 

“I apologize for that, we have been looking into many candidates,” he said as he walked up to her, not necessarily lying but definitely omitting the real situation as he eyed her. “But yes, to your first question we renovated the top space to be useful for storage or also for an event space.”

She hummed as she turned around and put her hands on her hips, staring at the floor from the corner they stood in as she looked to the counter in the back before walking towards it and placing her hands on it. She looked over her shoulder and asked, “May I step behind?” and Jumin simply nodded. As she stood behind it she looked around the room from that angle and nodded as she pulled the notepad out of her bag again and moved her pen around haphazardly. She couldn’t have been writing anything from the way her hands moved and Jumin was once again curious as to what she was doing. As he walked towards her she opened the door that was behind and looked into the small back room before turning back out and moving around as if she was miming serving a customer.

It wasn’t unusual, per say, but Jumin hadn’t seen someone who fit into the space before like she had. It was almost like she was making the space her own already, like she just naturally belonged there in an empty space walking around and nodding from time to time. “I must ask,” he said, stopping to clear his throat when she looked at him with eyebrows raised, lips slightly parted as she nodded to spur him along. “Ah, I must ask what you are intending to do with the space,” he finished, genuinely curious as to what she was thinking as she walked around.

“Oh! Of course, you’d want to know that.” She stood up straighter then, walking out from behind the counter and towards him before she stood straight and clearly said, “I want to open up an art supplies store and eventually hold classes of varying styles and degrees. The block doesn’t have a store of this nature, and there actually isn’t one for a significant distance, so I think it’s the best place for me to open.”

Jumin blinked once, taking in what she said with a neutral face as she looked back at him expectantly. An art supplies store? That wasn’t something anything this block had ever had, and was there even any value in something like that? Well, she had brought up some points already about the lack of competition in the area in general, but he still was a bit confused to be honest. 

“An art store? What for?”

She laughed lightly and turned away a little as she looked around. “We should be encouraging more people to create, to take risks. The arts have been waning in terms of overall general support, but art opens up so many possibilities, to anyone really. For kids it’s been proven that creativity helps them learn how to express themselves and their emotions in a healthy way, for adults it’s the same, it’s a chance to find an outlet for all of the stressors of daily life. I think that people find themselves intimidated by this idea that you have to be an expert to get into it, or that if their children aren’t good it isn’t worth the effort. That’s entirely wrong.”

She ended her short speech by bringing her fist swiftly down onto an open palm, looking to Jumin whose face had softened a little as she spoke. _________ was passionate, that was certain, but what expertise did she have to run a business?

He took his worry and worked on forming a question as he guided her to the second floor, but he lost all train of thought when she let out a genuine and excited, “Wow!” upon seeing the space. She quickly walked past him, turning back to look over her shoulder and give him an equally genuine smile as she walked around the space. “This has the best lighting, even better than downstairs! This is perfect for classes!” She exclaimed, throwing her arms out as she gestured to everything. He had never seen someone so openly in awe of a space he showed, even when he was showing off multi million apartments or corporate offices, and this was a simple two story old renovated house-turned-shop in a slightly historic neighborhood. He was fascinated by her, by her reactions and her hopes and he couldn’t help the next question that fell from his lips. 

“Why do you have so much conviction in this idea?”

The smile on ________’s face fell as she looked back at him, turning around and staring at him for a moment her eyes tracing his face as if she was trying to read him, trying to get a glimpse into him to see why he would even ask that. After a moment, she simply shrugged and smiled again, “It’s my dream, so of course I have conviction in it. I want to create a space where anyone can come in and dream and not feel judged for it. I want people to find joy in something that brings me immense joy, and to me opening a shop that invites people of all levels of proficiency to come in and get whatever it is that they need to do so.”

Jumin only could nod, taking in what she said and wondering what it must feel like to have such passion for something, even just the passion to spread what brought her joy to others. As he was silent he didn’t noticed her coming up to him, looking into her bag to pull out her notebook before bringing it to his face. “Excuse me?” He asked, confused at what she was doing before she spoke.

“I can tell you’re not convinced, but here are my plans. The notepad has a few basic sketches of concepts I have for the space. I did these off of the information online and have some changes in mind upon seeing the place, you can see some notes I made downstairs.

He took the book hesitantly from her, wanting to maintain a professional image and not express interest but the desire to see what she was thinking outweighed that and he flipped through the pages, eyes widening at the work she had put in. There were detailed floor plans, various concept sketches of what the space would look like and where things would go, and he was shocked at the level of detail that went into it. Looking back to her, he went to speak but she had now thrust her phone out to him, a photo album pulled up as she sighed.

“I know this is going to be a success, and I hate to pull this card but I know it will because a shop like this was my safe haven as a kid when I first started to dabble in this. If not for that shop I would never have gotten to where I am today.”

He took the phone from her now and he could hardly contain the shock that spread across his face, although that just meant that his eyebrows slightly raised in interest as he flipped through the images. Watercolors, sketches, oil paintings, pastels, more watercolors, there seemed to be no end to the images as he looked back up at her, interest now very apparent. “You made all of these?”

She just nodded, holding her hand out and taking her phone back before tapping through it and handing it back, now showing a website with her name on it. “I’ve been a professional for years now, but I need to get back to my roots. Creating doesn’t mean anything if it doesn’t bring me joy, and I know this will. And I know I have the drive to make this a success.”

Jumin was silent as he went through her website, seeing various accolades and honors she had been presented, various press materials she was featured in, and other mentions of the places she had competed or people who had commissioned her. Another gallery was featured and he started to scroll through it, captivated by the images featured there. They were different than what she had shown him, they were far more grand in structure and composition, but throughout all that he saw he was able to see a passion that he didn’t have for anything, not even Elizabeth the Third.

He was intimidated by her, plain and simple. For the first time in ages Jumin felt a wash of emotions rush through him as he looked at her work, something that he hadn’t ever experienced before. To him art was to be visually appealing, something to brag about to guests when they came to visit and coo over whatever work was hanging in the foyer. Even Jihyun had never been able to get him to understand the importance of it, but he clenched his jaw when he thought of his best friend, recently retired and off doing who knows what. He didn’t want to think about that, feeling his chest constrain as thoughts he pushed down came back.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts by looking back at ________, once again standing off and framing a section of the room, obviously imagining what would go there, he started to realize the importance of a place like that. Especially if it came from a person like her, who breathed life into whatever space she went into.

“These are amazing. I had no idea that someone could create such stirring work,” he said in a low voice, eyes going back to the screen so he missed the smile returning to her face.

“Well thank you. It’s been my life’s passion, and I just want to share that. I’m tired of creating for others with specific criteria. I want to create my own life and work, and help others do the same,” she said softly back, her gaze going back to the room as she imagined people of various ages and backgrounds coming together to spend some time away from their day to day and experiment and test the boundaries of what they thought they could do. She had been right when she saw the listing, it was perfect, every single thing about it. It was spacious, bright, inviting, and she already was imagining the wonderful things that would come from opening this place up.

Turning back to Jumin, she clapped her hands once and smiled up at him. “I would love to rent this place, if you’d have me as a tenant!” she exclaimed, deciding that it was best to be open than try to skirt around the next part of this conversation.

Jumin startled a little bit, still lost in her phone and her paintings and he had to take a moment to get his train of thought back in line. She let out a small laugh as she smiled at him, and he felt a bit nervous about how he felt upon hearing it. It was obvious she wasn’t mocking him, but he couldn’t for the life of him point out why she would laugh in the first place. But before he started to think about that he had to address her statement.

“I am happy that you are interested in this property, Ms. ________. If you don’t have any further questions we can end the tour and I will get back to you at a later date with the status of your application.” It was his usual script, the one he gave every person who asked that question, but her smile just grew wider as he spoke.

“Ah, I get it, gotta run a background check and double check my credit. Well, when that’s done just call me and I will sign!”

“We have many interested applicants,”

“Oh I don’t doubt it. But I’m telling you that I can give you the deposit and the first three month’s rent upon signing. And I will sign a multi-year lease.”

She knew how to negotiate, he had to give her that. 

“We’ll have to check your financials,” he responded, and she just nodded.

“Ok, I get that. But I’ll tell you this,” she paused as she plucked her phone out of his hand and scrolled through once again before pulling up a painting and smiling, “This was my last commissioned painting. You can look up the patron and see how much he paid for it, he loves to boast. I don’t though, but I’m telling you I will be the best tenant ever. Will pay on time and even early if you ask me!”

Jumin Han never felt flustered, never felt like he wasn’t in control of a situation. But standing there, toe to toe with this fire cracked of a woman he found himself in a losing battle. Her business plan was well thought out, she could obviously afford the place, and she knew how to drive a hard bargain, obviously having come prepared to discuss the next steps of the process. He looked down at the notebook in his hand and tightened his grip on it slightly before looking back at her. She remained there, smile on her face and an expectant look in her eyes, waiting for whatever he said next and probably planning a comeback to whatever he could throw her way.

It wouldn’t be bad to have her as a tenant, would it? He was starting to warm up to her, that he could tell, and that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing to feel, right? At least, he knew that dealing with her wouldn’t be a problem, and would probably be as entertaining as the afternoon had been.

With a deep breath, he held the notepad out to her and said, “I will call you later today regarding the next steps.”

The smile on her face erupted and she laughed as she took the book from his hand. “Thank you so much, Mr. Han, I look forward to your call!”

“Jumin.”

“Hmm?” She looked up at him, a confused look on her face as she processed what he had just told her.

“You can call me Jumin,” he repeated. How odd, he thought to himself, he always had the other tenants call him Mr. Han, but from her it just sounded too formal, too stuffy.

“Well then, thank you Jumin!” She said brightly, and for the first time all day a small smile came to his lips.

She was going to do great things in this shop, he believed that. No, looking at her and feeling the confidence and excitement radiating off of her, he knew that.


	2. Jaehee Kang

Mondays were always busy. 

Actually, that is being too lenient, Mondays were absolute hell. 

Mondays meant people rushing in, absolutely exhausted from the weekend in in dire need of caffeine before they got to the office ten minutes late. There were moms meeting up after dropping kids off at school, students meeting for projects, people parking in the cafe to work, and while it meant business (steady, well paying business) it also meant an increase in customers and therefore an increase in madness.

Wildly complicated orders that were better suited for a Moonbux, questions upon questions about the pastries and what was in them, and indecision even though they had the entire time in line to decide was the standard, even when the line seemed to be out the door. It was difficult, demanding, and only took the toughest of minds to brave it. 

Good think Jaehee was one of the toughest around. 

While many would have been ill-equipped to handle it, even her staff sometimes groaning in complaint about the rush, she was patient, even kind, to the customers. She was swift at defusing tense situations, could answer questions as quickly and thoroughly as possible, and was able to convince a customer of the perfect drink for their tastes. Years of corporate work had trained her for this- she had lived a life of false niceties and pompous attitudes as a personal assistant before finally snapping one day, seeing a piece of art in a studio and realizing that she wasn’t doing what she loved, that she didn’t have the passion for her career, for anything, like the artist she was looking at had. 

So without any fanfare and certainly no warning she handed in her resignation letter, turned over her assignments, and walked out the door, never looking back as she stepped out into the great unknown. Yes, starting a cafe was a risk, but she knew the reward would be great in the end. Even if she ended up failing it would be a success because she had been happy while doing so. 

That’s why even the orneriest customers didn’t bother her, she knew she was living a better life than she had before. 

Her twice weekly (at least) judo sessions to de-stress definitely helped with that too.

Despite all that though Jaehee would admit that Mondays were particularly rough. She knew the stress that Mondays could bring for many and while she was empathetic, she wasn’t necessarily sympathetic. Oh how did she long to be able to tell a customer, “Yes, I understand you’re running late, but you should have thought of that before you came here on your way to work.”

Around 2 pm though the rush always died down and she would spend her last hour in the back, taking stock, figuring out a new recipe to develop, or do simple book keeping to ensure she was able to pay her employees. That Monday though, one had called in sick an hour before opening and Jaehee gave them the day off, refusing someone with an illness to handle food. But at 5 am it’s hard to find someone to cover and she knew she would be working full time at the front. The morning had been rough, and she found herself a bit tired as the hour came up. Yes, there was the slow uptick of students coming in after class from a nearby university, but they were easy. They just ordered a drink to be able to use the WiFi til they closed. 

Stretching behind the counter as the other employees (she had luckily been able to get someone in at 11 right as the lunch shift kicked in) took their break, she sighed lightly as she started to mess around behind the counter, rearranging things that were out of place after the hustle and brushing up any areas with coffee dust or a small spill of milk. As she got to work the door of the shop opened, and she looked over her shoulder to see if the person was going to approach the counter or was simply looking for someone. 

A young woman stood in the shop, hands on her hips, looking around with a wide smile as she gazed at seemingly everything she could see. She walked slowly through the store as she made her way towards Jaehee, looking at the tables, looking down to the ground to check out the molding and the hardwood floors, and glancing around at the various shelves and the different products or decor that littered them. Jaehee had never seen this brunette before, and judging by the way she walked around it had to have been her first time here, but she had never seen someone look around so intensely, as if she was taking in every detail. The woman would walk closer to shelves, smile at the detailing on the edges of them, turn to look at the windows and smile, and Jaehee couldn’t tell if she entranced or unsettled by it. 

It felt like someone was looking into the most intimate part of herself, as she had put her blood sweat and tears into building this shop and making it as successful as possible. She was used to customers coming in and glancing about before immediately making a beeline to the counter, and those were the ones who were generous. Most of the customer’s eyes immediately trailed to the menu listed above her head, some barely even giving her a glance as they ordered before going to sit and wait for their drink. Jaehee never judged those people, she knew that she used to be the same, but seeing someone spend a substantial amount of time looking around before even approaching her was unsettling to say the least. 

The woman whipped her head out of nowhere to now look to Jaehee, and her smile seemed to be even brighter as they made eye contact. Jaehee stiffened up a little, feeling self-conscious under her gaze, and her posture only grew more rigid as the woman approached her. 

“I love the decor and ambiance of this place!” was the first thing out of her mouth, and Jaehee simply nodded, unsure as to how she should respond. 

“Oh, thank you,” she finally said, a small blush spreading on her cheeks. 

“Are you the owner?” The woman asked and she nodded again. This caused the woman to smile again, “Oh wonderful! I could tell by how you reacted. I’m glad I got to meet you. I’m _______, I’m moving into the shop at the end of this block.”

“The one next to the specialty tea shop?” Jaehee asked, interest piqued. 

“Yup! I just got my key today!” She rustled around in her purse letting out a soft “ah” before she pulled out a set of keys on a lanyard. She let them dangle as the still satisfied smile played on her lips, and Jaehee found herself finally smiling back at her. 

“Well then, welcome to the neighborhood,” she said politely. That building had been empty for months, and Jaehee had grown rather tired of Jumin coming in once a week to complain about the slow pace in getting it filled while he waited for his coffee. Mr. Han was her landlord so she wasn’t going to say anything that could potentially upset him, but after the sixth time she just told him to ‘take care of it’ himself and something seemed to click in him when she said that.

It looked like he had been able to get it filled after that. Was she surprised that he took her advice? She couldn’t decide. 

“Thanks! I don’t think I’ll be open for a month or so, but I’m excited to get started! How long have you been here?”

Jaehee paused a moment, counting backwards in her head before she gave a small smile upon realizing how long she had been there, “Just a little over a year. I guess I forgot to celebrate my anniversary of opening.”

She looked back to _______ who had bright eyes but also looked a little horrified. “That’s amazing! But also you need to celebrate such a huge accomplishment! You have to be pretty smart, and also have great products, to keep an independent coffee shop open that long!” She turned away at that time and looked at the pastries behind the counter and Jaehee took this moment to quickly observe the woman. She couldn’t have been more than a few years older than her, but she seemed to exude a confidence that Jaehee still hadn’t found after leaving her career to pursue her passion. It was a little bit disarming to be around her; she couldn’t tell whether she was intimidated by her or whether she admired her. 

“So what do you recommend?”

Jaehee shook her head a little, a bit surprised to be addressed again. “Oh, what?”

“What’s your most popular drink, or even better, what’s your favorite? It’s great to be able to get the opinion of someone who works at the place, and even better to ask the owner!”

Jaehee immediately knew the answer to the question and said quickly, “Our macchiato.” She was a bit embarrassed by her quick response, but the smile on _______’s face quelled her fears a bit. 

“Perfect! A macchiato then! Ooh, and one of these kouign-ammans, you rarely see these!” ______ said enthusiastically while immediately pointing to one of the pastries in the window. Jaehee simply nodded and immediately went to work, starting by grinding the espresso beans, packing them into the portafilter, and making sure the milk was perfectly steamed. She put the pastry in the oven to toast it up and when the coffee was finished she immediately got back to work, concentration on her brow as she made sure the foam on top was perfect. After a few minutes she turned around to see _______ leaning on the counter, her head resting in her hand as she looked down at the drink and a look of surprise appeared on her face. 

“This looks amazing!” She exclaimed as Jaehee went and pulled out the pastry, placing it on a place and pulling out a fork for her and pushing that towards her.

Jaehee blushed at the compliment and nodded. “Thanks,” she said in an overly polite tone but ______ didn’t stop smiling and kept the compliments flowing. 

“Seriously, this looks beautiful! All the major corporations just care about mass production, in every industry but especially in coffee! You can really tell when something was made with care, and that planning really went into it.”

“I know, it’s really hard to compete with places like that, with their drinks with donuts on top, or their ‘mermaid’ whatever of the month. I might have a seasonal special, but I’m not into creating concoctions like that. I understand the appeal of ‘Immediagram’ food, but it’s not anything that I’m good at making.” She paused and looked over at her new companion to see that she had a bit of a playful smile on her face. She blushed again, and that only made the smile on ______’s face grow even wider. 

“I agree. It’s good for a quick fix, but mainly if you’re looking for sugar,” she laughed as she fumbled around in her purse before pulling out her wallet. “How much?” She asked as she opened it, looking at Jaehee expectantly. 

“Oh no, this is on me,” Jaehee stated, a bit surprised at her own reaction. She felt a bit embarrassed as she saw the look on _______’s face, one that said, “Really now?” 

Seconds later, she said what she was thinking, “Really now?”

Jaehee blushed and nodded, and to her surprise _______ just sighed and opened her wallet again. “Oh no,” she started, but she stopped the second that a 50,000 won note was dropped into her tip jar, causing her to say a more alarmed, “Oh no!”

________ shook her head and waved a finger, a quick “Nuh uh uh,” being tutted as she picked up the drink. “Don’t you dare think of giving that back to me.”

“This is too much, your order isn’t even a quarter of that,” Jaehee said, feeling more unsure as the situation continued, but _______’s calm smile stopped her from continuing to ramble. 

“This is for the great conversation,” she said before picking up her drink and taking a sip of it before smiling again and laughing, “And for the drink!” Taking a quick bite of the pastry, she rolled her eyes and pointed to it, swallowing before saying, “And for that. Amazing. I found my new spot for sure.”

She didn’t move from the spot, continuing to drink and eat as the compliments kept coming again. “This is perfectly balanced, not like other places where you can tell the espresso is burned, or just really bad coffee. And this kouign! The layers are perfectly flaky! Just so rich and buttery. Did you make this?” Jaehee nodded and _______ kissed her fingertips and smiled, “My compliments to the chef!” 

For the first time since she walked in, Jaehee smiled and laughed, a light feeling in her chest and she watched the newest neighbor. It would be nice to have a woman around her age in the area, maybe the two of them could even become friends. Finding the confidence to keep the conversation going she asked, “If I may ask, what do you plan to do with the store?”

Nodding as she finished chewing her food, she covered her mouth as she swallowed and answered. “An art store. I’m hoping to eventually have lessons, but I have to make sure I can keep the shop open to begging with.”

“We don’t have anything like that on this street.”

“Yup! One of the reasons why I chose it, less competition.” She gave a wink as she took another sip of her drink. “I hate to run off, but I’m meeting with someone today about refurbishing the counter. I’ll definitely be back!”

Picking up her food she went to leave but quickly turned back around “Oh my god, I totally forgot to introduce myself! I’m _____ _____! So nice to meet you,”

“Ah, Jaehee. Jaehee Kang.” 

“Be seeing you around Jaehee!” She gave a friendly wave and took off, holding open the door for someone as they walked in before turning and heading down the street. 

Jaehee smiled as she thought back on the interaction. _______ was full of personality, but it wasn’t a bad thing. In fact, it was nice to meet someone so passionate and naturally friendly and Jaehee knew she was happy that she was going to have another woman running a business to connect with.   
But a second after ______ left her view, her jaw dropped. “______ _____?!” She said aloud, an employee raising their eye brows as they walked back to start the next half of their shift. She had met _______ _____, the artist that had inspired her to quit her job. 

What a small, small world.


End file.
